American Idol: Which Girls Were Sent Home?

Wednesday

Feb 20, 2013 at 12:01 AMFeb 20, 2013 at 7:22 PM

Ten of American Idol's Top 20 ladies performed for the judges at the Mirage in Las Vegas Wednesday in a sudden death round, at the end of which five were sent packing. (The same format will be applied to the ...

TV Guide

Ten of American Idol's Top 20 ladies performed for the judges at the Mirage in Las Vegas Wednesday in a sudden death round, at the end of which five were sent packing. (The same format will be applied to the guys on Thursday's show.) It's the first time the show has ever done a sudden death round, and the judges' decisions of who to send home were difficult but unanimous, according to host Ryan Seacrest.

"The reality is, we're sending people home tonight that are insanely talented," Keith Urban told Seacrest during the cuts.

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Here's a breakdown of who advanced to the live competitions and who was eliminated:

Saved:

Tenna Torres: The judges loved Torres, though Nicki Minaj advised her to "lose the hair," saying her style made her looked older than she is. Only time will tell what 'do she decides on for the live shows!

Kree Harrison: After singing Patti Griffin's "Up to the Mountain," Harrison got a standing ovation from the judges. "I would be very afraid if I was any of these other girls here tonight," Minaj told her. Randy Jackson added: "It was effortless. I felt like I was at your show and you'd been doing this for 25 years." And when giving Harrison the good news, Mariah Carey couldn't even pretend that there was any question whether the judges would send her through. Looks like we may have a frontrunner!

Angela Miller: Miller made a name for herself in the Hollywood round by performing an original song that wowed the judges, and continued her upward trajectory Wednesday night with a rendition of Jessie J's "Nobody's Perfect." According to Jackson, "America's witnessing the building of a superstar." Will she prove him right?

Amber Holcomb: Another no-brainer for the panel. Holcomb's take on "My Funny Valentine" was so on point that it almost made the judges angry! Mariah Carey told the Idol hopeful that it made her "want to slap" her, while Urban wondered: "Why do you make it so hard on everybody else?"

Adriana Latonio: The final elimination of the night came down to Latonio and Shubha Vedula, and in the most surprising vote of the evening, Latonio edged out Vedula - though it was apparently a contentious decision. One judge who was likely in Latonio's corner was Carey, who gave her an "A+" for her performance of Aretha Franklin's "Ain't No Way."

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Eliminated:

Jenny Beth Willis: Keith Urban praised Wills' "effortless confidence" on Trisha Yearwood's "Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love," but the other three judges were less impressed. During her elimination, Urban told Willis, who was the first performer of the evening, that the girls who came up after her simply outshone her, talent-wise.

Brandy Hotard: All of the judges except Carey criticized Hotard for not connecting emotionally with Travis Tritt's "I Don't Love You Anymore," citing the fact that she was smiling while singing a song about heartbreak. Minaj called her performance a "pageant delivery," and it wasn't enough to carry Hotard through to the next round.

Isabelle: The mononymous Isabelle, who talked about her extensive weight loss during her auditions, delivered an impassioned take on Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child." Though Jackson called the performance "old-fashioned," Urban told her she should think of it as "the key to the side of the car" of every boy who didn't ask her out in high school. Still, she didn't have what it took to advance beyond Vegas.

Kamaria Ousley: Perhaps trying to channel good vibes from The Ghosts of Idol's Past, Ousley chose Kelly Clarkson's "Mr. Know It All" for her song. Alas, it didn't work - and Minaj and Urban told her so, using those exact words. Jackson was even harsher, saying: "The pitch was all over the place. ... It was definitely your worst performance." And even Carey, who told Ousley she was "obsessed" with her, offered the gentle feedback that she had "seen [her] do better."

Shubha Vadula: Last but definitely not least (and possibly not even deserving to be sent home at all) was Shubha, who was passed over in favor of Adriana Latonio at the end of the evening. Vedula tackled Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," starting at a piano and eventually dancing her way through the number, and it was all too much for the panel. Urban and Minaj said it was "confusing" with so much stuff going on, and Jackson praised her potential but said she was trying to do too much vocally. Still, Urban assured her "you were fought for" during deliberations. Of course, this was after he'd already delivered the bad news, and that seems like small consolation!

So, what did you think? Did the judges make the right calls? Sound off below!

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